Traffic fines
The Sindh government recently announced that it is amending the motor vehicle law which will increase the fines imposed for traffic violations and also ban four-seater rickshaws. While the banning of four-seater rickshaws will not only cause hardships to people from lower income groups but also deprive a source of income to the lower middle class owners and drivers of rickshaws the increased fines for traffic violations seem rather unreal and questions the seriousness of this decision.
I say this because the new fines seem preposterous to say the least. Hold your breath while I tell you what the new fines are going to be starting immediately. You will not believe it but the traffic fine for driving wrong way has been increased to a hundred thousand for private cars and two hundred thousand for government vehicles. For motorcyclists this fine has been increased to Rs 25,000. For those driving without a valid license it will attract a fine of Rs 50,000 for four-wheelers and 25,000 for motorcyclists.
The one fine that raises many questions is the hefty fine on government vehicles. Obviously, the department concerned will pay the fine and it will not come out of the pocket of any individual so in a roundabout manner it will be us the taxpayers who will be penalized.
The logic of this fine is really hard to understand. Fines are imposed to discourage violations of law, but in this case as it will not affect the pocketbook of any individual and only involve some paper work it will not penalize any one nor reform anyone's driving habit. It will be a waste of government resources starting from the police officer who will issue the challan to the scores of government employees who will be involved in clearing the red tape to pay the fine from government coffers.
As far as the fine of a hundred thousand on four-wheel drivers is concerned we have seen other attempts by our worthy traffic police to control traffic but not with any success. If you remember at one time with great fanfare exclusive lanes for motorcyclists were painted on Shahrae Faisal and announcements made that there will be strict enforcement of rules and no motorcyclists will be allowed to wander into other lanes where only four wheelers will be allowed. This did not last long and mixed vehicular traffic is still running on this important road leading to Karachi's international airport.
The recent amendment in our traffic rules might not work but it has placed Karachi top of the list as far as traffic fines are concerned. We have even left behind European countries in this area. In Europe, Denmark leads in such fines but even they do not come close to our recently announced fines.
Here fines for speeding are Euro 135 and Euro 670.27 for drunk driving. In Norway, the highest fine is for using your mobile phone while driving and you are slapped with a Euro 867 fine. In Spain, there is a Euro 200 fine for both speeding and mobile phone use while driving. France imposes some of the highest traffic fines and has no tolerance for drunk driving imposing a fine of Euro 4500.
Pakistan can learn a lot from Canada where traffic fines are imposed seriously but they are meant to reform the drivers not just to punish them. The concerned department keeps an eye on individual driver's record. The driving licence when you receive it the first time comes with 15 points.
Every time you breach the law whether it is drinking and driving or over speeding or any other traffic violation points are deducted. When your 15 points are reduced to 7 or thereabouts you get a call to visit the ministry for an interview. Here an officer discusses your driving history and warns you that you are about to lose your licence. If you heed the warning and avoid future violations your points come back after a while, otherwise your license is cancelled.
In the end it all boils down to the intention of the amendments made. The present amendments will only work if there is not only good intentions but dedicated people to implement with sincerity and unity of purpose. Do we have what it takes to make our city safe and organized? Only time will tell.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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